Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases (AKA The Red Book) is now in its 3rd edition and available in soft and hard cover versions.  All NACC members receive 20% off The Red Book. Visit Bradford Publishing and use code NACC at check out for your discount.

NACC Silver and Gold Members receive a copy of The Red Book as a membership benefit. Consider upgrading your membership during your next renewal!

The Children’s Rights Litigation Committee (CRLC) is thrilled to announce that all five programs in the series "Assuring a Successful Transition" have been posted to the CRLC website where they are available at no cost. This series focused on the role of legal representation in assuring that youth transition successfully from foster care to adulthood. Each program was a rich discussion of these complex issues, and we are grateful to our truly impressive line-up of speakers who each generously shared their significant experience to ensure these programs were practical and informative. We had strong geographic diversity among our speakers to ensure that these programs were meaningful regardless of whether you practice in a jurisdiction with extended foster care, or a jurisdiction that ends foster care at age 18 or somewhere in between.  Feedback from attendees was that these programs were incredibly valuable. CRLC is grateful to our co-sponsor, the Juvenile Law Center for assistance in planning. 

The programs that can be heard are:

• Assuring a Successful Transition: An Overview of the Issue
• Assuring a Successful Transition: What Is the Role of Lawyers and the Courts for Transitioning Youth?
• Assuring a Successful Transition: What Legal Issues Do Transitioning Youth Face?
• Assuring a Successful Transition: Transition Planning For Special Populations
• Assuring a Successful Transition: Permanency and Connections in Transitioning Youth

To find these programs and more, visit the CRLC website: http://www.americanbar.org/publications/litigation-committees/childrens-rights/materials.html

WESA
Youth need more of a say in shaping the juvenile justice system they're a part of, according to a report released Monday by the Pittsburgh Foundation. Lead researcher and senior program officer Michael Yonas said that even though they have first-hand knowledge of the system, youth voices are not taken into account.

First Focus
The Cabinet-level presidential appointment of Director of the White House Office of Management of Budget (OMB) is of particular importance to the Children’s Budget Coalition, which is made up of over 50 children focused organizations that strongly support robust funding for programs that impact children’s development and well-being, particularly in the areas of health, education, nutrition, housing and welfare. The Children’s Budget Coalition applauds Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who took the opportunity during hearings for the position to elevate the importance of robustly funding children’s programs.

New Mexico Center for School Leadership
The State has a unique moral and legal responsibility to ensure the well-being of children in its care. Yet educational outcomes of children in the care of our child welfare and probation agencies are significantly worse than other at-risk students.

NationSwell
Under a philosophy of what reformers call "positive youth development," which draws much of its insight from developmental psychology, the Massachusetts juvenile justice system stopped focusing on the bad things kids shouldn't do and started promoting positive outcomes.

Impact Justice
This week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Impact Justice released a practice guide for promoting the safety and well-being of LGBTQ and GNCT youth in the juvenile justice system.

USA Today
With nearly 12 million admissions each year, local jails are functioning as the gateway to over-incarceration in America. Just a few days in jail can increase the chances that a person will face future arrest or incarceration. Because jails are run at the county and state level, local reforms do not require presidential or congressional action. That means we have opportunities to make change in communities across the country — regardless of what happens in Washington.

Thank you to our newest Silver Members!  We truly appreciate your support of NACC and the work we do.

AnnaLee Foster
Denver, Colorado

Venetha Johnson
Chicago, Illinois

Alicia Park
San Francisco, California

East Bay Children's Law Offices, Inc. (EBCLO) is seeking an exceptional person to lead a strong team including attorneys and social workers who represent children and youth in the juvenile dependency court. This leader must be committed to high quality legal advocacy, through a holistic approach, to provide young clients with a voice in the decisions affecting their lives both in and out of court. The new Executive Director will have a unique opportunity to work with the Board and staff to expand and deepen services for children who need lawyers.